Strong winds and flooding from Hurricane Milton generated up to $2.5 billion in damages to Florida's farms, with the state's agriculture department reporting wrecked infrastructure and "significant production losses" among orange crops.
Total crop and infrastructure damage is between $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion, according to an estimate from Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson. That's more than the losses from hurricanes Helene, Idalia and Debby, which, combined, led to $1.5 billion in damages.
Milton, a Category 3 hurricane which made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, hit the majority of Florida's citrus producing counties. The hurricane also devastated agricultural equipment and infrastructure, affecting dairies and cattle raising operations.
"Hurricane Milton has left a broad path of devastation, impacting our farmers and threatening Florida’s position as a leading agricultural producer," Simpson said in a statement. "With four major hurricanes in just over a year, our agriculture communities have been hit repeatedly, causing unprecedented financial strain."
The damage to Florida's orange groves could last for years, with growers expressing concern that flooding could lead to "tree mortality in the near future," according to a report from the state's agriculture department. Most of the citrus production losses from Milton were due to fruit drop, with the storm passing through as growers were preparing to start harvest.
Despite concerns around Milton disrupting the state's lucrative fertilizer industry, those facilities were largely spared after the path of the storm changed, according to an update from The Fertilizer Institute.
Simpson is pushing the USDA to issue a disaster declaration for affected Florida counties, pressing the department to expedite approval of farm assistance and issue additional help where possible. However, the USDA does not need to declare a disaster in order to issue assistance if the president already issued a declaration, which was the case with Milton.
A department spokesperson reiterated that USDA program flexibilities are already available in a statement to local paper Florida Phoenix, saying Simpson's request "unfortunately distracts from the accelerated assistance, expanded flexibilities, and resources that USDA is making available."
Following destruction from Hurricane Helene, the USDA announced indemnity payments for producers who lost livestock to the storm, plus expedited crop insurance payments and new flexibilities for disaster assistance programs. These resources are also available to producers affected by Milton, according to the department's website.
In addition to requests for a disaster declaration, Florida Sen. Rick Scott has urged the USDA to provide the state with a block grant to help producers recover, similar to what the Trump administration did following hurricanes Michael and Florence in 2018.
